Well, dear readers, it’s been a fun and somewhat surprising ride, but today we have The Last of the Red Hot Day Runners, 1985. For those who’ve read my first memoir, you know how tough I felt the 1980s were and how they finally culminated in a moment where I was so desperately unhappy that I had to make a choice – thankfully I made the right one. While most of the crazy, financially difficult times would happen through the first half of 1988 until everything finally turned around and got good, 1985 was the last year where I made a pretty decent amount of money, despite not really working all that much. The year began quietly, with my first commercial interview on January 9. I’ve rewritten the film about girl’s volleyball and it’s pretty funny. Lou Arkoff seemed to be very happy with it and he began sending it everywhere. Ultimately it doesn’t get made, but someone who saw it stole one of its best jokes for a Rodney Dangerfield movie (I later find out that it was absolutely read and stolen from my script), which was calling the Dean of the school, Dean Martin – that was good for many, many laughs throughout the script, and I’m happy to have provided some help to the writers who couldn’t think of it on their own. On January 15 and 16 I have four commercial interviews, but also on January 16 I have a reading for a guest shot and this reading will prove to be the nail in the coffin of my now-floundering acting career. It’s for the syndicated version of Too Close for Comfort. The sides are terrible and I don’t even want to be there. But, I grit my teeth and go. Now, you must understand how bloody frustrating the past five or six years has been – being on the graylist, not working very much, the whole casting process changing, and having no luck with any projects going anywhere or any performance leading to more work. When you compare that with the first eight Day Runners, well, it’s all pretty clear. I show up, they take me in to read for the producers, director, and the writers. I read and do my best with the awful material. And then either the producer or the director makes the terrible mistake of saying to me, “Can’t you make it funny?” I stood there for a moment and should have just walked out – but I was where I was and way beyond that point. I looked at this buffoon who couldn’t write (or direct) his way out of a paper bag, and I said, “Oh, is that my job? I thought it was the writers job to make it funny. Because no one – not Jack Benny, George Burns, Woody Allen, you name the person – could make this funny.” And with that, I turned and walked out, called my agent, whoever it was at that point, and said, “I believe I’m done. I can’t do this anymore. Someone is trying to tell me something and maybe I need to listen.”
Also, in this Day Runner only, my writing becomes VERY small – it almost doesn’t even look like my writing, although I’m sure it is. I guess I’m still with Penny on and off because there are lots of notes about picking up her son. I attend a few meetings about the volleyball picture (Rotate), but, as I said, it’s all for naught. A few commercial interviews here and there, along with a few callbacks. On February 7 I go to Denver. I don’t remember why, unless it was to visit my ex-girlfriend, the one from San Mateo. I come back and I’ve landed one of the commercials I went on, so I shoot that on February 12. I see I have several meetings with Catalina, a production company owned by my old writing agent, Frank Levy, and actor Gregory Harrison. I have no idea what these meetings are for. I guess maybe by late January I’d broken up yet again with Penny because February is filled to the brim seeing other gals, one after another. On February 6 it’s like the old days, three commercial interviews in one day. I really thought I’d just stopped going out on TV and film stuff, but apparently not – I have a meeting at ABC on March 5, on March 6 I read for something called Hollywood Air Force Base, and I’ve landed one of the commercials and shoot that on March 7. It’s making me laugh, but there are literally girls names on every night of the week and the weekend – I was a busy little boy. On March 10: Spago. I don’t even remember ever eating there. On March 20 I read for something called Fathers and Sons at MGM. Now there’s a new girl’s name that appears a bunch of times – I have no idea who this person is. On March 26 I have a callback for Hollywood Air Force Base and a bunch more commercial interviews that week. On Saturday April 6 I go to an ice skating show because I think I’m dating one of the skaters – go know. I do remember spending a lot of time hanging out there, and getting to know Charles Schulz’s daughter, who was a skater. Maybe I was even dating her – who knows? Well, I just googled his daughter’s names and one of them is named Jill, and that name appears in this Day Runner around the time of seeing the ice show about thirty times. So, I guess that answers that question.
My writing is getting even tinier – I really don’t understand it, but I’m sure a therapist would. I know who some of the gal names belong to, but there are some I just don’t have any memory of. Faye, Bonnie, Emily, Lynn – who were they? Paula, Ann, Lissa, Jeanine – them I remember and have even seen from time to time over the years. Jill and Bonnie are the clear winners in terms of number of times their names appear. On Friday May 3 I have a meeting with producer Joe Wizan. On May 8 I have another meeting with him – have no idea if it was for a writing or acting project. On May 14 I shoot another commercial. I suddenly have a spurt of meetings at Fox, Disney, Paramount and Universal – don’t know what they were about or for. I continue meeting with Lou Arkoff so the project must not have been totally dead yet. By July the names Bonnie and Jill have disappeared. Oops, Bonnie’s back on July 27. The name Kay begins appearing, not frequently – that’s probably Kay Cole, because we were friends and most likely catching up. On August 3: Darleen, Bonnie, Lisa. I’m surprised I’m not dead after THAT day. I see Kay several times in a two-week period – it may be about a show or something. On August 7 I have a meeting at Columbia. We’ve also begun a series of readings for my new two-person musical, Pals. Taking part are Marsha Kramer and Heather Lee. I record a demo of it during that time. Lisa and Bonnie are back – I wonder if I’m dating them, or friends, or if it’s business – I would assume the first, but who knows. Bonnie keeps on trucking, and now there’s a Robin showing up quite a bit. On August 29 I kind of hit rock bottom by going back to my first agent, Alex Brewis, who’s now in Studio City (across from my Gelson’s) and beg him to take me back. He’s very sweet and says no.
On September 12 I go meet with people from a software company called Quadratron (yes, in 1985). My friend David Wechter’s wife works there and they need a spokesperson to tour the country touting their stuff at big events. I’m not really that interested, but they offer me so much money for just a few weeks of work, that I have to say yes and do. It would appear Penny and I are trying it once again because all other names have disappeared and hers now appears. I can tell you that it’s not going to last very long. On September 19 I read for Falcon Crest of all things. I have no memory of it. On September 22 we have a backer’s audition for Pals. It goes fine, but nothing happens. On Thursday September 26 I have a meeting with Anson Williams – why I do not know. Someone named Simone has appeared a few times and I go to a party at her house, whoever she is, on September 27. Simone is now appearing all the time. On Friday October 11 it says I’m seeing Tina Turner. You’d think I’d remember THAT, but I don’t. On October 14 I begin the Quadratron tour with a dress rehearsal in LA. Then it’s Phoenix, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York, Washington, and then I’ve stopped writing – blank pages (I know there were more cities, there had to be) and I’m finally home on November 22. I’m not sure of the details but on Monday December 2 I shoot a Tax Video for someone – you know, a funny look at how to fill out your taxes. Believe me, not a job I should have been doing. I turn 38. And that’s all she wrote. Between the Arkoff script, the Quadratron tour and the tax video, I’ve done okay. But 1986 is coming. SAG stops making Day Runners. And my career is basically over, save for commercials. I do make my little foray into cabaret, although I’m convinced that happened in 1985, despite there being no mention of it in the Day Runner – so maybe it was 1986. In 1988, I’m at the end of my rope, have my epiphany, and things slowly begin to get better. We start Bay Cities on a wing and a prayer and in terms of output and customer love it couldn’t be more successful. In terms of money, it ended up being anything but successful. That year I also take over the direction on a movie – it’s terrible, but I have grand fun doing it. And then David Wechter calls and asks if I can come in and edit a bit on a TV show called Totally Hidden Video – the show is in trouble and he can’t do everything himself. I come in at nine at night, work until four in the morning and they LOVE the bit – the next day they hire me at a salary of $2,000 a week. And I’m back. So, whatever happened to Bonnie, Jill, Simone, Emily, Lynn, and Faye? Where the HELL are they?
Yesterday was a day. At least I think it was a day. I can’t really remember much about it, actually. I know I only got about six or seven hours of sleep. I know the helper came over to get a jump on Sun Valley Serenade, which is shipping on Friday. Then I went and had a sandwich with no fries or onion rings. I picked up a couple of packages, and then came back home. I did a bit of work on the LA show, wrote the Day Runner portion of these here notes, then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched the final episode of Happy Valley. Unlike House of Cards or other shows like it, Happy Valley is really smart and does six episodes. None of the story lines overstay their welcome, which is the problem with series that have ten to fifteen episode seasons on cable, but are essentially telling one story per season. When you spread that one story over that many episodes, your just vamping a lot of the time and things get repetitious and boring and predictable. That never happens in Happy Valley. The episodes are tight, well written, well directed, and beautifully acted. And unlike a show such as House of Cards, there are not so many chefs in the kitchen – where that show has scads of executive producers and producers and writers and directors, and where the actors get in positions of demanding producer credits and directing jobs, you get exactly what happens to a show like that. Here, there is ONE creator/writer, there is ONE producer, and there are TWO directors for the season. The actors don’t direct, the actors don’t produce, the actors – wait for it – act. While the story may not be all that original, the style and the acting and the intelligent writing carry the day. Sarah Lancashire is fantastic in the lead role, but everyone is really terrific. If you have the Flix of Net, this comes highly recommended by the likes of me – and they have season one so you can start from the beginning. The only caveat is that the accents are VERY heavy and sometimes it’s like listening to a foreign film – thankfully, Netflix has closed captioning, which I took advantage of a few times.
After that, I did a major overhaul of the second act order of the LA show, then sent the in progress script to the technical folks – costumes, lighting, sets. All the singers have their music, as does the musical director and so onward we go and I’ll do the show order and write the commentary now.
Today, I shall do the show order and write the commentary, I shall eat, I shall hopefully pick up some packages, and I shall work on the LA show.
Tomorrow is a busy day – at eleven-fifteen I have a work session with John Boswell for the Kritzerland show, then I have to go directly to LACC to do a walkthrough of our theater with the sound person I’ve hired. Then there’s something happening either in the late afternoon or in the evening, just can’t remember what. Oh, yeah, I’m doing a phone interview about Nudie Musical. The weekend will just be working on the LA show, seeing a production of My Fair Lady, and relaxing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a show order, write a commentary, eat, hopefully pick up packages, work on the LA show and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, exhausted from finally reaching The Last of the Red Hot Day Runners.